They brought attention back to ground fighting, but to say they invented everything (anything) bullshit. BJJ is just Judo without good take downs. Read the Cannon of Judo or any book by Kano. **** read any biography of Helio. They need to be thanking Kodokan because if they hadn't taking chokes out of competitions they still be teaching Judo in Brazil.

When discussing the "secret" to the success of the Gracie Family, Helio Gracie once said, "It is not the Gracie's who are amazing people, it is Gracie Jiu-Jitsu that is amazing. This jiu-jitsu of ours is not exclusive to us, anyone who is dedicated enough to thoroughly study and understand it will be empowered far more then they could ever be without it."

Helio Gracie spent his entire life perfecting the techniques of what we now refer to as Brazilian or Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Because of his physical frailness, he was forced to develop techniques that relied more on proper timing and use of leverage then on brute strength or explosiveness. Once he had perfected the technique to a certain point, his objective was to teach other so that they could have a realistic chance of defending themselves against a stronger more athletic opponent. His children and nephews followed the tradition of spreading the knowledge of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in an attempt to help as many people as possible, and with hopes of sharing these techniques to the world, Rorion Gracie, his oldest son, left Brazil to get established in the United States in 1978.

When Rorion got established in Southern California he realized that there were many forms or martial arts being practiced in the U.S. all of which claimed to prepare the practitioner or student for a real street fight or confrontation. The problem was that because the representatives of these various disciplines never officially crossed paths, there was no way of knowing which style was most effective for a real fight.

1993 the Rorion Gracie created the Ultimate Fighting Championship for one very simple reason-to answer the age old question, "Which martial art is most effective for a real street fight?" His hope was to give the people of the world a chance to witness, once and for all, the representatives of different styles competing against one another so that they, the viewers, could decide for themselves which styles were designed for sportive competition, flashy movie scenes or a real street fight.

Representatives from all of the most well known disciplines: Karate, Tae kwon do, Kickboxing, Judo, Wrestling, Shoot fighting, Sumo, etc. were invited to compete in this single elimination 8 man tournament in which one individual would have to defeat 3 others in the same night to be declared the Ultimate Fighting Champion. In order to make each fight as similar to a real street fight as possible, there were no rules and no time limits, the fights would continue until someone gave up or passed out.

Rorion selected Royce Gracie to represent the family's art due to the fact that Royce was not a big strong athlete which would allow the average viewer to appreciate the efficiency of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. He shocked the world when he defeated all three of his opponents with the methodical techniques of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. What was most amazing is that he did this even though all of his opponents were heavier and stronger then him. Royce went on to win 3 UFC titles and by doing so, he proved to the world that for a real street fight there is no system of self-defense that is more complete, reliable or effective, even against a larger opponent, then Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

Everyone who witnessed what Royce did in the first 4 UFCs, quickly realized that he knew something very special since it didn't seem possible for an average person like him to defeat an opponent almost 80 lbs heavier then him. This was the introduction of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to the world of martial arts and the impact it had will never be undone.

From this point on, virtually every fighter to step foot in the octagon knew that without incorporating the teachings of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu into their current training regimens they wouldn't stand a chance.

On May 27, 2006, Royce Gracie would return to the UFC to face the current welterweight champion Matt Hughes. When the bell rang and the fight started, Matt and Royce got into a clinch and went to the ground. Matt was able to pass the guard (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu) and establish the sidemount (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu) from which he was able to attempt a Kimura lock (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu) from which he transitioned into a straight arm lock (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu). Royce was able to untangle his arm and in an attempt to get to a better position, he went to his knees. At this point, Matt quickly spun to a backmount and with his hooks (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu) in controlled Royce enough to be able to end the fight with an array of punches to the back of the head.

When the fight was over, the crowd was shocked, Royce lost but Gracie Jiu-Jitsu won.

The Gracie Academy would like to congratulate Mr. Hughes on his ability to recognize the importance of incorporating Gracie Jiu-Jitsu into his arsenal of techniques and on his dedication to achieving such a high level of proficiency in these techniques.

Since 1925, the objective of the Gracie Family has been to show the world the importance of knowing Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. The Gracie Family would like to thank Mr. Hughes for his commitment to the “Gracie Cause” through his continuous demonstration of the effectiveness and efficiency of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in real combat.

Well, that's a pissy message to be associated with ... but it is true. Matt's style is a mixture of BJJ, wrestling and any other styles they've studied and implemented/perfected.

Rorion is a sore fuckin loser and i bet Royce is embarassed by that message.

Familiarity breeds Contempt

There ain't a right way to do wrong or a wrong way to do right! Joe Frazier

Citizens should not fear their governments; governments should fear their citizens.

I got back into to judo after a long hiatus (approx. 12 years) I've trained a little in BJJ and I just don't see that it is much different from Judo, pl4zm4, makes a good point. Even though I have argued that most of Matt's technique was wrestling. BJJ really is just Judo as it used to be before it was wussified by the AAU.
But there are skewls out there (where the hell is that) that still teach Judo groundfighting and it looks, suprise, alot like BJJ.
I think as time slides by BJJ will be just like Judo, TKD, wrestling, etc. most of its practitioners wil be practicing the sport form. MMA has been good for the MA, it has exposed alot of BullShido, but even training in MMA doe not address weapons, multiple attackers, etc. But at least it is a start.:XXhippylo